AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is this a friend of yours?” Munroe’s mother asked, her steely gaze sending chills over my skin as she scanned my clothes. An imperceptible sniff was all I needed to know about what she thought of me.
“I work at MacAlpine Castle. I’m the chef at the new restaurant opening up.”
“Ah, a cook.” Munroe’s father nodded as if that made perfect sense. “Are you coming on shift here then?”
“No,” I said. “And I said I’m a chef. Not a cook.” I rarely called out the distinction, but if his parents wanted to get snooty with me, I’d push back. I refused to downplay my accomplishments for anyone.
“Right.” Munroe’s father made no apologies. “American then? And you’re meant to be serving Scottish food? Interesting choice.”
“Dad, knock it off.” Munroe stood and pulled out the chair next to them. His mother and I gaped at him with equal amounts of shock. “Lia, please join us. My parents surprised me this evening with a visit. Lia, allow me to introduce my parents, Angus and Charlotte Curaigh. Mum, Dad, this is Lia Blackwood, an esteemed chef that MacAlpine Castle was lucky enough to lure away from Boston. We’re also dating, so be nice.” With that little bomb, Munroe dropped a kiss on my cheek and almost dragged me into the seat next to him.
A stunned silence fell as his parents regarded me with distaste and, to be honest, I’m sure my expression was about the same when I looked back at them. They reminded me of every rich person who had spoken down to my family at school functions or had been rude to me at the restaurant. Now, let me be clear, I did not equate being rich with being rude. I had some delightful regulars at Suzette’s who could have probably bought the restaurant three times over and were about as charming and unassuming as could be. But there was another kind of rich, yes,thattype of rich, that wanted you to know just how much you didn’t live up to their expectations. It was the quintessential “you can’t play with us” vibe, like kids kicking you off their team, and that condescending, elitist attitude never sat well with me. It didn’t take any money to be kind. There was no way that his parents weren’t aware that they were making me uncomfortable, so it was time for Boston Lia to come out.
“Dating?” Charlotte said in the same voice as if she’d said, “Meth?”
“Of course,” I said, and winked at her, before throwing an arm casually around Munroe’s shoulders. Mind you, it was quite a stretch for me to reach up there, so then I kind of hung awkwardly off him, but now I was committed to this. “Hard not to want a sexy man like this, amirite? I mean, wow.” I fanned my face with my other hand. “They sure don’t grow ’em like this in Boston. Wicked hot, he is.”
Charlotte’s lip curled with distaste, and she smoothed the napkin in front of her.
“Yes, well, I suppose you need a lot of money to start up a restaurant,” Angus said, his eyes steely as he looked between me and Munroe. “I can imagine that’s why you’ve chosen Munroe.”
I’ve chosen him because he’s one of the best men I know.
I opened my mouth to speak, but Munroe held up a hand.
“Whatever this is…stop it. Immediately. You’ve never had and never will have a say in who I date. Don’t try to start now. And, Lia, you don’t need to defend yourself to my parents. It’s not worth your time. They only hear what they want to anyway,” Munroe said, the ice in his gaze matching that of his parents. My resolve crumbled, and all I could do was feel awful for Munroe and what his life must have been like growing up with these two as parents. My family hadn’t had money, but we sure had a hell of a lot of love. I never once questioned if my parents cared about me or my future. How Munroe had managed to turn out as warm and loving as he had was a mystery to me now that I’d met his parents.
“That’s ridiculous,” Charlotte scoffed. “We always listen to you, Munroe. I can’t say we understand you all that much though.”
“I mean, how could we? Common Gin? What kind of asinine choice is that for a name?” Angus rolled his eyes. “Hardly a proper name for a prestigious company.”
This sounded like a fight that I didn’t want to be involved in. My stomach growled, reminding me that I still hadn’t eaten, and since I hadn’t originally been invited to this dinner, I decided it was time for me to make my exit before I made things worse for Munroe and his parents.
“I love your gin,” I said, beaming up at Munroe, before pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. I stood. “I see my friends over there, and I need to order my dinner before the chef goes home for the night. Lovely to meet you both. Please, won’t you join us at the soft opening of the restaurant in few days? Munroe can give you the details.”
I didn’t wait for a response before I made my exit, but if they did come to the opening, I’d show them just what I was made of.
“You survived the Ice Queen,” Graham said, sliding a glass of red wine in front of me as I sat down next to where Agnes worked a crossword book.
“Oh, so it’s not just me they hate then?” I asked, relief passing through me. “Real quick. Can I order whatever soup is left and a cheese toastie? I’m famished.”
“No problem,” Graham said, ducking into the back hallway.
“It’s a miracle Munroe turned out decent,” Agnes said, putting her pencil down and turning to me. “I credit his summers here for showing him what real people can be.”
Loren Brae taught me what family is.
Munroe’s words drifted back to me, and my heart twisted. He was just crying out for love, wasn’t he? The problem was, I wasn’t sure that I had enough to give him. I loved what I did for a living, and the restaurant, well, it was my baby. Would I even have enough left to give to someone else? That had always been my issue. I poured my everything into my passion and barely made time for anything else.
“His mother looked like she wanted to eat me alive,” I said, giving a dramatic shiver with my shoulders before taking a sip of my wine.
“Doubtful. She only eats air and champagne.”
Despite myself, I laughed. The knot in my stomach eased a bit, and I sighed.
“I invited them to the opening.”
“Did you now? That’s going to be a real treat, isn’t it?” Agnes laughed, shaking her head at me. “What were you thinking?”
